


Rise and Fall

by Cornerverse



Series: Hero Chat AU [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Character Study, Lila Rossi Redemption, Mari and Adrien are mostly just mentioned but they have enough focus to tag them, Not hating Lila for once, She's still not a good person but this is more of a, well a potential one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24364318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerverse/pseuds/Cornerverse
Summary: "My name's Kareem," the girl said, holding out the bracelet. "And you're my friend now!""I'm Lila," Lila replied, taking the offered item.  "I guess I'm your friend now too!"-While technically part of a series, it can be read as a standalone.
Series: Hero Chat AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533146
Comments: 10
Kudos: 207





	Rise and Fall

**Author's Note:**

> A sort of character study/background headcanons I have for Lila and why she is the way she is. Also featuring three previously mentioned OCs!
> 
> I do want to clarify that a lot of this is a 'Cool motive, still murder' situation. Not an excuse for what she does, but an explanation. 
> 
> Also the narrative jumps a bit sometimes so just know that every page break means time has passed.

Lila sat on the edge of the playground, watching her classmates run around. It looked fun. But they didn't seem to want her. They ignored her, really. 

She didn't like that. She wanted to play too. Why couldn't she? 

"What are you doing over here?" 

Lila jumped at the voice, looking up to find a girl beside her. She didn't know her name, but she could tell the girl was a grade above her. The uniform had different tie colors. The other thing she noticed was that the girl wore several bracelets. So many that Lila thought it had to be more of an inconvenience. 

"They didn't want me to play with them," Lila shrugged. 

"Your friends didn't want to play with you?" The girl asked. 

"They're not my friends," she frowned. "Friends would play with you, right? They don't."

The girl nodded in understanding. Then, she dropped down next to Lila, and took of one of her bracelets. 

"My name's Kareem," the girl said, holding out the bracelet. "And you're my friend now!"

"I'm Lila," Lila replied, taking the offered item. "I guess I'm your friend now too!"

* * *

"Okay, Lila," the teacher said. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the Class?"

Lila felt scared, looking out at all the other students. She didn't like this. She wanted to go back to her old school. 

But no matter how much she'd screamed and cried, her parents took her to Italy. Back to Italy, technically. She didn't remember living there as a baby, but she had visited her grandparents. Just for holidays really.

Her grandparents are the reason she was here. Grandma was sick. Why did they have to move for that? People got sick all the time! But whenever she asked, her parents had given her a look and said they'd explain later. 

Fiddling with the bracelet, she remembered Kareem. She was back in their old school in Achu. Taking a breath, Lila began to speak. 

"My name's Lila Rossi," she introduced to her class. "I just moved here from Achu."

With prompting from the teacher, Mrs. Martello, Lila stammered off a few of her likes and dislikes before sitting at her desk and sulking. 

A while later, they were let out for recess. Lila was planning on sitting on the sidelines and continuing to sulk, just like that day with Kareem. 

However, just like with Kareem, a girl came up to her. 

"Hi!" The girl said. "I'm Annabella! You're Lila, right?"

"Yeah," Lila nodded. 

"So, you're from Achu?" Annabella asked.

"Sort of?" She admitted. 

"Sort of?" She tilted her head. 

"Uh, I'm originally from here," she said. "But we lived in Achu for a while. My moms an embr- an amber- an Am-bass-a-dor. 

Lila felt her face flush with embarrassment, having to sound out the word like that. But it was a big word!

"What's an Ambassador?" Annabella wondered. 

"It's a person who travels a lot," Lila explained. "She meets important people from other countries. Other ambassadors and sometimes people in charge of the countries!"

"Oh," she said, something sparking in her eyes. "Hey! Achu has a royal family! Did you ever meet them!"

"Uh, once?" She admitted. 

"That's so cool!" She squealed with delight. "Lara! Fiero! Get over here! The new girl's met Royalty!"

Before she could think, Lila was surrounded with other squealing classmates. All of them were asking her questions. 

"Did you see the palace?"

"Did you meet the prince?!"

"Oh! Did the prince ask you to a ball?! I bet he did! You're really pretty he had to have asked you!"

Lila was a bit overwhelmed. And confused. And maybe a little scared. 

She wasn't technically lying. But... that day she met Royalty was just because the Embassy had a 'bring your kid to work day' on the same day the King had a meeting there. He had brought his son with him too, and Prince Ali had seen the gaggle of children and decided to sneak away from his bodyguards and join them. It only lasted a few minutes before they caught up and took him away. 

But that didn't seem to be the kind of story they wanted. Would they be mad and disappointed if she told them otherwise?

So she found herself nodding along. Not really lying. Her mom told her it was bad to lie. But they were the ones who had made up the story about dancing at a ball, she just told them the answer they wanted. 

And, well, if she talked about things that probably could have happened, then what was the harm? They wanted stories. Lila wanted friends. 

* * *

Lila soon found that her new friends seemed to be getting bored of her. 

At least, until she told them another story. Then they'd be back in full force. Paying attention to her. Asking her to hang out, if only to hear more stories. 

It didn't matter that her stories were made up, right? It was just a story, and they were begging to hear them. As long as they stayed with her, why did it matter? 

* * *

This had been a mistake. Lila had seen Fiero climb across the monkey bars with ease. It didn't look too hard! 

But now, Lila was three bars in, too far away to put her feet on the ladder, and her arms too tired to go across to the next bar. Not to mention the rest of the thing. 

And what didn't help was the older kid behind her, yelling at her, calling her a baby. When he decided to swing forward and kick her, her hands slipped.

An impossible amount of pain jolted through her arm. Lila didn't care that she was screaming and sobbing in front of her classmates. All that mattered were the jolts of pain that shot through her arm. 

* * *

There were a lot of things Lila hated about having a broken arm. She couldn't properly move her arm. And the cast was bulky and weird. She couldn't sleep on her side or carry anything or even write. And the most annoying thing: an itch she couldn't scratch. 

But one good thing that had come of it, was that her classmates were paying attention to her. Without her having to make up more stories! It was kind of refreshing actually. 

That older kid who kicked her had to apologize! Her other classmates had to carry her things and do her class work for her. Even her homework too! They began worrying if she showed the slightest discomfort,

They even threw a collective tantrum when Mrs. Martello told them that Lila wasn't allowed on the playground until her arm healed! They opted instead to stay on the sidelines with her and listen to her talk.

It was nice. To be liked, to be wanted. 

And then it went back. The cast was off, and Lila was supposed to do her own classwork and carry her own stuff. But she didn't want to. 

"Fiero?" Lila asked. "Can you carry my books for me?" 

"You don't have the cast anymore," Fiero frowned. 

"But my arm still hurts," She insisted. 

Not technically a lie. Though it was no longer an intense pain, she had spent weeks without using her arm. It got tired quickly now. 

"Sometimes injuries hurt a while after they heal!" Lara interjected. "My oldest brother hurt his leg a few years ago and he still has days where it hurts!"

"See?" Lila said. 

Fiero looked like he wanted to talk back, probably to remind Lara that her brother's injury was more than a broken bone. But he just shook his head and carried the books. 

* * *

Lila was furious. Here she was at another school. She wanted Annabella! And Lara and Fiero! And Kareem! 

Most of all, she wanted her grandmother. She now knew why her parents were worried. Grandma was gone. And as soon as they didn't have to take care of her, Lila's mom had been transferred to a new country.

"Hi!" Lila's new desk mate said. "I'm Sara!"

"I'm Lila," Lila replied. 

"Moving's tough," she said. "I should know. I moved from my hometown last year. But you moved a whole country! Seriously, what's it like?!"

"I'm used to it," Lila said. "I move around a lot. Italy is where I was born and we moved there last year because of my... my grandmother. Before that we were in Achu."

"That's kinda cool!" She said. "But it kinda sucks, right? I mean, you had friends in your old school, right?"

"Yeah" she sighed. "I did. They always liked to listen to my stories."

"Stories?" She asked. 

"Well, they were interested in Achu's royal family," she explained.

As Lila began telling her old stories, of meeting Prince Ali and going to a ball, it felt so natural now. Even though Sara hadn't actually asked for it. The girl was still all too willing to hear her out though. 

By lunch time, Lila had quite a crowd surrounding her, listening to her as she recounted her tales. When asked about other celebrities, clearly expecting her to know them, she nodded along. 

It was wonderful, in a way. She still missed everyone she'd left, but it was lessened by new friends. 

Though, even as she thought that, she realized how impermanent it was. Sara would soon be 'my friend from my last school'. Just like Annabella. Just like Kareem. 

Even as she fiddled with the bracelet, she noticed it was beginning to feel too tight on her wrist. One day, she wouldn't be able to put it on. 

* * *

It was the same in her next school. And the next. And the next. 

Lila would join a class, gain attention through her stories and 'help' by saying she hurt. Her friends would listen, invite her to things. 

But she'd learned. Don't get attached. They were only there for the next year or so. Then she'd never see them again. 

This school year had been the same. They were invested. They adored her. And with time, Lila's stories had gotten more and more elaborate, including more celebrities, and injuries to herself. Even charitable acts! 

It was even easy to tell them "no, I wasn't out sick, I was traveling!".

But eventually, her luck ran out. 

"That's not true!" One of the classmates, Evelyn, glared. 

"Of course it's true!" Lila said. "My aunt owns that restaurant! Of course she'd create a dish inspired by me!"

"No she doesn't!" She retorted. "That's my big sister's restaurant! And she's never met you!"

So many things happened at once. With one lie caught, the rest seemed to unravel. They questioned everything she had ever said. And then, they began to question even the mundane things she said. Despite once seeing her as their close friend, now all they saw was a jerk and a liar. 

For the first time in years, Lila spent her lunches and recesses alone. Her weekends too, as she was no longer invited to sleepovers. 

It hurt. They were her friends, weren't they? Sure, her stories were lies, but did it really matter? It was entertaining. They'd asked her to tell them. But suddenly that's not enough? 

Fine. Next time, she wouldn't screw up. And if she did, well, she'd figure something out. 

* * *

"I'm not lying!" Lila glared. "You're just jealous!"

"Jealous of what?!" Veronika demanded. 

"All the attention I'm getting," she replied. "Especially attention from your little crush."

Veronika's eyes went wide as her cheeks turned red. Her gaze flicked to Jacob, who was still too entranced by Lila to notice. 

Unlike last time, the whispers that started weren't about Lila. No, just Veronika's jealousy. It was strange how easy it was to make them think that was the problem. 

Seeing Veronika's face almost made Lila retract her statement. Especially as she now had one less person to pay attention to her. 

But she had to do it. If she didn't, she'd lose all of them. Couldn't have that. She refused to be alone again. 

Thankfully Veronika learned quickly, not speaking up despite avoiding Lila. She didn't return to the crowd, but that was fine. They rest of them already gave an explanation. She probably didn't want to watch Jacob trail after Lila like a lovesick dog. 

* * *

Once more, Lila was in Italy. For a very similar reason. This time, however, it was her father who was sick. And Lila was old enough to understand that now. 

As his health deteriorated, her need to have her new class wrapped around her finger grew. She needed them. Their love and attention. Even if it was just something flimsy based on nothing but lies, wanting to hear about her 'amazing adventures' and the hope that she would one day introduce them to the celebrities she talks about so often. 

But even though she was getting smarter and more skilled at her lies, her classmates were also getting smart enough to sometimes question things. Most times she was able to calm their fears with a few well-placed lies. 

But if they pushed it, well.... Usually, after the first time, people would learn to stay quiet. Just one instance of "you're just jealous", followed by their friends believing that over any points made about Lila's lies was all it took.

If they tried again, they got a one-on-one session. A reminder that if everyone could believe Lila about everything she'd said so far, what would happen when she made up worse things? 

So far, only one had tried. 

"I'm telling you she's lying!" Cass shouted. 

"Give it up!" Scarlet said, glaring at her former friend. "Vinnie already made his choice and it wasn't you!"

"I'm sorry," Lila sighed. "Maybe I should've just stayed out of all this. I should just let you have him."

"Of course not," Vinnie said, taking her hand and kissing her cheek. "Scarlet's right. I chose you. And Cass? I get you're upset. But don't take it out on my girlfriend!"

The anger and betrayal on Cass's face was wonderful. Any chance of toppling Lila's tower of lies was long gone. 

* * *

Just like with her grandmother, as soon as her father's funeral was over, Lila's mother was forced to transfer again. 

Trying to ignore her sadness, Lila focused on her new home for the next year or so. Paris, France. 

Her usual stories of celebrities were good and all, but she found something that could add a boost: Superheroes. 

At the very least, her new classmates would love the idea of someone who was friends with Heroes. But perhaps she could get a chance to make that a reality.

And when she found out that her classmates included the model son of a major fashion designer? Well, her last 'boyfriend' had been nice and decently wealthy. But this was one hell of a score. 

* * *

Goddamn Ladybug! How did she even catch on to Lila in the first place?! And how dare she yell at her and out her lies to Adrien!

If it had been any of her new classmates calling her out, she could handle it! Just like Cass, and Veronika, and all those in between. A few pretty words and the accusations would be ignored. 

But Ladybug was a Superhero! Lila wasn't sure she could come up with something fast enough! Could she call the Hero jealous over Adrien? Maybe, but they were supposedly friends. Maybe say "she's trying to keep our relationship on the down low for my safety"? It could work. But there was no guarantee.

And this was her first day! She'd have to go for at least a year of being alone once the class abandoned her! She couldn't stand it! 

"Volpina, I am Hawkmoth."

* * *

Lila had only intended to skip a few days of school. Enough to avoid the aftermath of what was going to happen when everyone found out she was a fraud. 

Then she got messages, asking if she was okay. Wondering when she was coming back. A few provided their own assumed explanation, asking if she was with one of her 'famous friends'. 

Seems like, despite Ladybug's efforts, Lila's lies were not yet known. She told them she was in Achu with Ali. An old lie, but a good one. And they believed it. 

Thankfully she'd had the foresight to create a fake email for her mother's contact information. When Miss Bustier sent an email about Lila's attendance, it was easy to reply with an email about her 'trip'. 

Unfortunately, she couldn't get out of the classwork she sent. But at least she could just google the answers instead of looking through a textbook. 

* * *

Those few days turned into weeks. A depression had set in, missing her father. Most days, she didn't want to get up. 

The first week Lila had claimed illness. Her mother had given her a look as if she knew she was lying, but given that she also didn't want to leave the house, she probably assumed it was for a different reason than avoiding her classmates. 

The second week, Lila just didn't tell her mom. Mrs. Rossi usually left for work before Lila left for school, and came home much later. She wouldn't know. 

Lila did have to come up with lies about what she had learned. It wasn't too hard. List off something from the classwork emailed, and mention the friends who texted her. She even brought up Adrien. Though the boy hadn't been one to text her, she was sure he would come around. 

But by the third week, her mom began to get suspicious. That's when she came up with "the school was closed for Akumas!". Continuing on about Ladybug being a terrible Hero was just the icing on the cake. 

After all, what kind of Hero tracks down random teenagers telling innocent stories of friendship, just to scream and publicly humiliate her?! Taking care of Akumas or not, that's no kind of Heroic behavior!

* * *

When Lila heard Hawkmoth's voice again, after venting her rage at Ladybug, she was all too happy to have a little bit of revenge on the bug. 

A small part of her told her that this was too far, but the rest of her said that Ladybug deserved it for daring to cross her. 

* * *

Lila wasn't sure who was more annoyingly frustrating. 

There was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a 'sweet innocent girl' who was trying to out her lies. Lila doubted some of that. After all, she didn't even have to suggest that Marinette was jealous before her 'friends' leaped to Lila's defense. The girl's faith in her 'friends' was still unwavering, but a few more "incidents" could fix that. 

Then there was Adrien Agreste. He knew she was lying, but tried to convince her that the class would still care about her if she confessed, and that she didn't need to lie to make friends. Yeah right. As if they would have paid attention to her without her lies. As if they truly cared about Adrien and not his money. 

That would probably help her discredit Marinette, actually. She'd heard the girl was an aspiring designer. Between Adrien's money and connections, it was obvious she was just using him. 

Adrien's words almost began to get to her though. He knew she lied, but still was nice. Seemingly without motive, as he had yet to fully return her advances. Would the others be like that too?

Perhaps she would have continued that train of thought if she hadn't seen that purple butterfly. 

* * *

"So," Lila said, setting down her coffee. "Did you want another interview about Ladybug? I could probably tell you a little about Jagged, but nothing too exclusive about his next album! Sorry! He'd be upset if that leaked out!"

"Nah, girl," Alya grinned. "As tempting as that is, this is just a hangout. I'm not going to ambush you into an interview!"

She.... didn't want to listen to her? Everyone had seemed so ready to beg for more tales. And she had figured the amateur reporter would be chomping at the bit to get the first scoop! Even if it was just false gossip, shouldn't she be chasing every lead?

"Are you okay?" Alya asked. "Oh. You probably thought I just dragged you here for an interview, didn't you? I promise I'm not going to beg you for interviews! Well, maybe a little if you have something interesting. And if you tell me not to post it I won't. But you seem cool and I just wanted to hang out!"

"Oh," Lila said, still not buying that. "It's no problem. I was just worried because, well, I thought Marinette's accusations had gotten to you or something. I've dealt with people accusing me of lying before and it's ... not fun."

"I don't know what's up with Mari sometimes," she sighed. "But trust me. She's usually just as sweet as you are! I'm sure she'll get over it soon."

Lila also doubted that. If Marinette stayed quiet, then nothing would happen. But so far she hadn't. Unfortunate. 

"So," Alya said. "I've heard plenty about the people you know, but what about you? What do you like doing when you're not traveling and hanging with the rich and famous?"

"I don't really have time for much else," Lila admitted. "Hobby-wise, I mean. I do like hanging out with my non-famous friends though!"

Not technically a lie. She had some skills, but they were mostly pushed away in favor of keeping up her charade. And a lot of times when she was out with friends, all they would do was talk about her celebrity knowledge. If she expressed interest in a show, they'd ask her if she knew anyone who worked on it. If she wanted to try a sport, out came a story about some athlete. 

"You're zoning out again," Alya frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?" 

"Yeah, sorry," Lila shook her head. "I'm just... a little on guard I guess. I know you already said you're not going to bother me for an interview, but I just... I've been burned by the 'I'll be your friend if you use your connections to make me famous' kind. I'm sure you wouldn't do that, of course! But it does tend to make me a little on edge at first."

"I totally get it," she said. "Take your time. But I will warn you, it's hard to make our class get all 'starstruck' anymore. So be prepared for them to treat you like a normal person."

Lila had to wonder what Alya meant by that. Sure, the class did have Chloé and Adrien, but was that really enough to kill any 'starstruck' effect? Surely it wasn't. Especially since, from what she'd heard, Chloé wasn't really 'starstruck' material due to her rude personality. Even if some people assured her she was getting better. 

"I have an idea," Alya said. "How about you come to a girl's night? We can all get to know each other better!"

"I don't know," Lila mused. "I mean, you should probably ask the others first. And while I obviously don't want to cause a rift... I don't know if Marinette will want me there."

"She can play nice when she needs to," She replied, already texting on her phone. "Seriously, if she can have a conversation with Gabriel without decking him, she can handle spending a night with a girl she's jealous of."

* * *

Despite almost getting stabbed by an Akuma, Lila had quite a productive day. 

She'd spent plenty of time with Adrien, and he seemed to be liking her more. Okay, he was annoyed that his house staff got in trouble, but he had let her take that selfie! 

Plus, Gabriel seemed to like her. Which was a very important thing. For all Adrien's potential, it was his father that pulled the strings. And telling Gabriel about 'bad influences' like girls who were only interested in Adrien for his money and power... well, that plan would come about soon enough. 

And as a bonus, she learned of another 'Rival' and how to eliminate her! That Kagami girl. All Lila would have to do is point out how she had been so upset and possessive of Adrien after just seeing an out-of-context picture of him with another girl, and people would become wary of how she'd react to a legitimate threat. 

Some small voice in the back of her head pointed out something. They way Lila had told 'Oni-Chan' that she'd give up Adrien if she got rid of Ladybug. 

Was that too far? Okay, yeah, she'd helped Hawkmoth potentially beat Ladybug before. But outright killing her was... different. 

Oh whatever. She was just saving herself from death. If 'Oni-Chan' had killed her, the Akuma would just have gone after Ladybug anyway. It's not like Lila really effected that in any way other than not dying!

* * *

Lila was furious. She'd gotten so close! Marinette was about to be expelled and out of her hair for good! 

But then Adrien had to open his stupid mouth. And now Lila had to cover with that 'disease that makes me lie when I'm stressed', which was going to make things tricky. 

She glared at the foxtail necklace still in her hands, so bitter. This was a decent chunk of cash that was pretty useless now. She'd bought it to be a fake Fox Miraculous, but now that plan was out the window. So was the 'grandmother gave me this as an heirloom' plan. 

Ugh. She didn't even want to look at it anymore. But it was a bit to expensive for her to just throw away. 

Lila walked over to her jewelry box, intending to put it in a drawer so she could forget about it. But in doing so, she found something else she'd forgotten about. 

A bracelet, far too small for her hands now. Sorrow and nostalgia welled in her chest. 

Kareem. It had been so long since that day. It had probably been years since Kareem crossed her mind. The only friend she'd truly made. The only one who never needed a lie to like her. Who never wanted to hear about stories of celebrities. 

Guilt came next. What would Kareem think of her now? 

Lila looked up when she heard the familiar sound of fluttering wings. A Butterfly was hovering in the air, waiting for a moment before attempting to land on the bracelet. 

Without thinking, Lila stepped away, pulling the bracelet out of its reach. The Butterfly almost seemed to give her a curious look, wondering what was going on. 

"Not today, Hawkmoth," Lila said, giving a shuddering breath. "Not for this. Not for her."

For a moment, she wondered if Hawkmoth was going to force her. She knew he could do that, since none of the others were willingly Akumatized. 

Instead, the Butterfly flew away. 

**Author's Note:**

> Why did I write this? I have no idea. I don't usually even like Lila outside of having her as an asshole. But I was thinking on the fact that, despite that, I don't consider her irredeemable. And then this came out.


End file.
